Saturday, February 22, 2014

Local Card Show: A New Hope

THAT CARD DOESN'T HAVE A WATERMARK! So that could mean either one of two things: Either I got it from another source, or...

(checks printer)

A SCANNER?

One that's been sitting on my printer since the inception of the blog, and one that I've been afraid to use for some reason?

...IT EXISTS! I can actually scan things for the blog, and USE them! FOR REAL ACTUALLY!

No more watermarks! No more discrepancies! No more DESCRIBING THINGS! BETTER CUSTOMS! YES! THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER!

Okay, okay...where was I?

Oh, yes, the card show.

--------

PREVIOUSLY ON LOST CARD SHOWS, the local mall that had hosted every great card show since I'd began blogging, announced that they were no longer carrying the show. Management made the decision, none of the dealers were happy, and the show had an incredibly somber tone to it. However, one dealer in particular spoke of hope. Hope of a card show not too far from where I lived, in Deptford, NJ, that would be taking a lot of the same dealers from the older show, and giving them a larger mall to sell in.

Hope came today, in Deptford, on the upper level, around the main area of the mall. And it came in the form of ten-cent bins.

I came home from Deptford with a bag full of nicely selected cards, ranging from $1 to 10 cents each, from the 90's to today, baseball and football. And thanks to my scanner, I can SHOW you what I got.

SET NEEDS:

Now, I know what you're thinking, and yes, I do realize how absolutely insane it is to like Upper Deck Timeline, and actually want to collect it. Well, I don't really want to collect it, however I do like seeing cards I don't have from it, especially from these designs.

2012 Archives is a set I'm a bit more serious on collecting, so getting these nine cards helped matters especially. I also got a few more cards that I thought I needed, but I didn't. Oh, well.

2005 Topps was the first card set I got into, because a friend of mine had a lot of it in 2007, and it was so new to me. I remember "borrowing" some of his star cards. I think he stopped collecting after that. Still, these five are always nice.

PLAYER SIGHTINGS:

The one ten-cent dealer had a lot of random clumps of different players, including Manning and Harrison, though there were a lot more Harrisons, which I can understand, as he was everywhere around 2003 and 2004, right before Manning became The Greatest Quarterback of Our Time. Manning had a few nice ones too.

This one was my favorite. Not because it's 1998 Upper Deck (1998 for football, 1999 for baseball), but because it's a great shot of the guy in mid-run. Also, because I get to see those awesome red-centric Patriots uniforms again.

Andre Johnson was also well represented, as these cards were new to my collection. Also, I have a soft spot for 2004 Fleer Showcase. Matter of fact, I have a soft spot for 2004 Fleer Anything.

Plus, it's not a card show without an appearance by Donovan McNabb, one of my favorite QB's of my youth. Two sets that are fun to collect, too, especially the Stadium Club one....WHICH REMINDS ME...

STADIUM CLUB:

These five are at least a start, especially considering the fact that they all come from sets I haven't broken a box of. The Smoltz one is cool, because where else are you gonna find a pitcher diving for an outfield catch?

The majority of the Stadium Club at one dealer's box was from 1999, which was another nice set from the last few years of the product. The Greg Maddux one is a hell of a shot, and the Damon one is a great 'pulled back shot' card. Also, rookies for Adrian Beltre and Eric Chavez.

MISCELLANEOUS:

Gypsy Queen, sad to say, is only good for the inserts. I mean, the base cards are okay, but the inserts have been the only consistently-awesome part of the three-year-long descent in quality. These two are proof, from last year's release- excellent photography combined with impressive filtering. Can't decide which one I like better.

These are both inserts from 2006 Topps Football, as part of their Turn Back the Clock promotion. Of the inserts the guy had, these two were the only notable ones. After last season, they might be a lot less notable.

All inserts of powerful players I kinda adore. Thome especially. Any cards of him on any team, I will collect whole-heartedly. Edgar Martinez is one of my Mariners-loving uncle's favorite players, and this is one of those 'let's make up what would have happened had there been no strike last season' inserts. These two Johnny Damon cards are also awesome, even the one that depicts his year-long stint on the A's.

Three cards of versatile journeyman QBs. I picked up the Hasselbeck because I so badly needed a card of him on the Packers, as a completist and Packer fan. The Brees is another nice addition to my ever-growing 'Brees as a Charger' mini-collection. The other Hasselbeck is here because I like any and all Topps cards of cool players.

2014 TOPPS:

I got a bit more than depicted, but these are the highlights. The $1 Torii Hunter gold was the priciest card I bought. The others are here for star power, team-bias, and awesome photography, in the case of Upton, Marky and Werth, who much be pointing at how awful the guy who took his place is doing.

These two Topps-centric cards are legit rookies of two fringe-stars, Young and Kendrick. You can argue that Kendrick is still a big star for the Angels, but not as big as he was in 2008.

These three are of people that would only excite a quirky collector like me.

Lillibridge's is important to me because he helped me out a while back, and made one of my customs his Twitter profile picture, which I will never not be bragging about. McCallister is equally sentimental to me, as I was there to see his Major League Debut, five years after this 2006 Bowman card was produced. Morse is also kinda sentimental, because I was in Washington when he returned from a minor injury, during his peak season in 2011. These three may not be stars, but they are to me.

Justin Masterson had an excellent season in 2013, finally breaking out for the Indians. I'm happy this happened, because it took the sting out of his previous claim to fame, the one that said he was the catalyst behind the trade that sent Victor Martinez to Boston. Now, they can say he was the guy who brought the Indians back to legitimacy. So for that, his 2006 rookie card's a pretty big deal.

However, I think it can be trumped...

Unless I'm mistaken, I believe this is Carlos Gonzalez' rookie card, three teams away from where he'd make a few All Star games in Colorado. This is a pretty nice one, especially considering I got it for ten cents.

So, being that the show was a success, I imagine that I'll be going back the next time they have it, and I'll hope to see some of the same people, and more ten cent bins.

Who the bleep is this guy, anyway?

I've been collecting since 2007. Mostly Yankees and Phillies, but just about anything. I keep binders of players I like, baseball and football, active and retired. Current college student, though I doubt I'll ever leave this hobby behind.